Food for the Eyes

These chef demos offer a delicious preview to OC Restaurant Week.

Want a preview of OC Restaurant Week before the festivities commence? This year, two local eateries show you the secrets behind dishes featured on their Restaurant Week menus.

Interact with the chefs and sample a barrage of culinary creations. Plus, eat with ease knowing that your full belly also aids a great charity. One hundred percent of the ticket sales benefit Share our Strength, an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in the U.S.

On January 21 at 6 p.m. watch The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar’s Executive Chef Yvon Goetz prepare his seared ahi tuna appetizer garnished with an avocado, mango and cucumber tower. The dish comes together with a lively cilantro-orange vinaigrette. But, we’re really salivating to see his slow-braised Angus beef shortrib entrée. Goetz’s dish is accompanied by carrot-infused pearl couscous and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus. (Let’s just say, you had us at prosciutto…)

Tabu Grill’s Executive Chef Rayne Frey shows off his skills on February 5, with a savory and sweet demonstration. His Snake River Farms Berkshire pork chop is accompanied by an innovative array of sides. When was the last time you had red cabbage sauerkraut or roasted butternut squash mash? (We imagine it’s like eating an amped up pomme purée.) The heritage pork – meaning that this chop is going to be juicy and filled with flavor from the heavy marbling – also gets an added flavor boost from the chef’s smoked onion and pomegranate jus.

The demonstrations take place at the Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom. Located at 151 Kalmus Dr., Ste. L-3. Tickets are $15. Advance purchase is encouraged, due to limited space. If you miss the demos, definitely try the dishes during OC Restaurant Week, which runs from February 23 through March 1.